


Exception for Cause

by helsinkibaby



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Engagement Party, F/M, Fluff, Het, Romance, another Baker Street party where Sherlock puts his foot in it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 20:17:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9401324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: It's John and Mary's engagement party, but Greg and Molly have a surprise of their own that shouldn't really be a surprise...





	

**Author's Note:**

> Set in an alternate universe where Molly's fiancé isn't atom, but a certain dashing detective inspector ...

Everyone in Baker Street was in high spirits, bar Sherlock who was ignoring the whole affair, as John popped the cork on the bottle of champagne, poured several glasses and passed them around. He clinked his against Mary's before they drank and everyone pretended not to notice how Mrs Hudson got all teary as they kissed. Greg put an arm around her and she leaned in against him for just a second before she moved away, all business suddenly. 

"Is everyone here? Should I put out the buffet?" She was looking around the room, finger on her lips as she thought. "Oh, that's right, we're still waiting for Molly and her young man." The description made Greg grin inwardly - it was a long time since he'd been described as young - but one glance at Mrs Hudson told him that she was completely sincere, wasn't taking the piss in the least. Deciding that she could blame Sherlock when the obvious happened, he said nothing as she clasped her hands together over her heart. "Two weddings, isn't it lovely?" 

"Delightful." Sherlock's voice portrayed the exact opposite emotion and Greg wanted to tell him to shut up but thought, as a visitor, it might be rude. 

John, however, had no such scruples. "Leave it out, Sherlock." 

"That's a thought," Mary said. "We've been thinking of May, what if Molly already has a date set? Or even if she hasn't, can we get married first without upsetting her?" 

John tilted his head and Greg waited for the obvious question. 

But instead of looking at him, John looked at Mary. "Is that a thing people worry about?" 

"Some people. Especially if they're bridezillas."

The notion of that label applying to Molly made Greg laugh, John too. "I wouldn't worry," he said and John nodded his assent. 

"Molly is the least likely person to act like that," he assured Mary and she lifted her eyebrows as she shrugged her shoulders theatrically. 

"Well, I don't know, do I? I've never met the woman. And neither of you have met her fiancé, how do you know he's not some sort of psycho?" 

She cast a pointed glance in Sherlock's direction and John gave her a reproving look. That meant that neither of them noticed Greg's jaw drop as he realised the important piece of information they were all missing. "I wouldn't worry." Sherlock, the only one in possession of all the facts, nonetheless sounded as disinterested as ever when it came to matters of the heart and Greg braced himself for whatever slight on his character was about to come up. After all, Molly had come home from her day of helping Sherlock - "If you ever call me John, even by mistake, even as a joke," she'd told him, frustration and amusement warring in every syllable, "I won't be looking for a divorce lawyer" and the implied threat had had him drawing her into his arms and reassuring her in deeds rather than words that he knew she was all woman - and had told him that Sherlock had seen her ring, had congratulated her and wished them both well. So it was a shock when Sherlock continued, "Unless things have changed greatly in my absence, including Miss Hooper's taste in men, I highly doubt that that particular coupling will make it to the altar. After all, we all remember her last paramour, don't we?" 

Greg was stunned into silence and for a moment John was too. He recovered quickly though - old habits must really die hard. "Sherlock, whatever you do, do not say that when they get here." 

Sherlock made a tsk-ing noise which was almost, but not quite, covered by the doorbell and John pointed a finger at Sherlock as Mrs Hudson headed for the stairs. "I mean it," he said and Greg found himself fighting back a smile. 

This was going to be fun. 

He heard Molly's voice greeting Mrs Hudson at the bottom of the stairs and stood quickly, made his way into the kitchen where he poured another glass of champagne before standing at the doorway, waiting. He watched as Mrs Hudson took her coat, as John introduced her to Mary and made some quip about the two of them comparing engagement rings. Which, with a laugh, they did, exchanging congratulations as they did. 

It was all very polite and then it happened. 

"Will your fiancé be joining us?" Mary's polite question made Molly blink, the tiniest of frowns appearing on her face. 

"Isn't he-" she began and Greg knew a cue when he heard one. 

"Here you go," he said, appearing at Molly's side, holding a flute of champagne out to her. 

"Oh you are here." Molly's face lit up in a smile as she accepted the champagne and, as Greg had been fairly sure she would, she raised herself up on her tiptoes in their accustomed greeting and brushed her lips across his. 

And while normally he'd be content to leave it at that, neither of them being huge fans of public displays of affection, today he made an exception for what he thought was a perfectly good cause. Deepening the kiss, he let his now free hand, the one that wasn't holding his own glass of champagne, land on her hip, let it slide around and down slightly lower than was strictly proper. He didn't make it a long kiss - that would be pushing his luck - but when he pulled back, Molly wore a slightly stunned expression even as she was smiling. 

When he glanced around to see how that had gone down, Mary was the first one he saw. Her eyes were wide as they flicked between him and Molly but to the woman's credit, she recovered her composure quickly. "John didn't mention that you were Molly's fiancé," she said, directing a glare at her own fiancé who, it had to be said, was doing a rather good impression of a just landed fish. 

"I didn't know," he said, unable to keep the confusion out of his voice and Molly frowned as she glanced across the room. 

"Didn't Sherlock tell you?" 

"No." John pushed the word out between gritted teeth. "He did not."

Sherlock, meanwhile, was watching the whole scenario play out with a look on his face that Greg had never seen there before. It was actual, genuine confusion and Greg only wished he had a camera to capture it and stare at it on the days when he was back to his usual infuriating self again. 

"But I told him." Molly looked at Sherlock, directed her next words to him. "I told you. I said, 'Greg and I are very happy.'"

Sherlock blinked once and Greg bit the inside of his cheek because he knew what was coming next. Sherlock didn't disappoint. "Who," he said, "is Greg?" 

Greg lifted his glass, part in salute, part in answer. "That would be me." 

"You don't know his name?" Mary's voice raised at least an octave. Possibly two. John laid a hand on her arm, to console or calm her, Greg wasn't sure, but she was still new to the Sherlock game and that didn't help. "You've been helping him solve cases for years, how can you not know his name?" 

Sherlock's nostrils flared, rather like a bull about to charge. "His name," he said, drawing himself up to his full height and staring down his nose at Mary with all the imperious disdain he could muster, "is Lestrade." 

Mary's jaw dropped and she looked at him like he was speaking a foreign language. Molly just looked exasperated and John dropped his head, pinched the bridge of his nose, though Greg could see the faintest twitch around the edges of his lips. "You get used to it," Greg told Mary, shrugging his shoulders. "Though hope does spring eternal."

"I don't know why you're looking at me like that." Sherlock was still addressing Mary. "I make it a point to delete any useless minutiae-"

"Useless minutiae?" The pitch of Mary's voice escalated still further. "It's his name!"

Sherlock blinked and John, perhaps deciding that the better part of valour was discretion, took Mary by the elbow, saying pointedly, "Let's go stand over... somewhere else." He gave Greg and Molly an apologetic smile as he moved away and Sherlock instantly became absorbed in whatever papers he'd been poring through. 

Which left Molly looking up at Greg, lips perfectly straight, eyebrows drawn in a frown. Her eyes, though, were dancing and Greg honestly didn't know if she was going to slap his bicep or burst out laughing. He was ready to step back just in case. "How long have you known they had no idea about us?" 

He held up his free hand in what he hoped was a placating gesture. "Literally two minutes before you walked in the door," he told her and she nodded, blew out a huge breath before taking a sip of her champagne. "But did you see the look on Sherlock's face?" 

He couldn't keep the grin away and though she tried, pressing her lips together so tightly that the edges turned white, seconds later Molly's shoulders were shaking with laughter too. "We shouldn't laugh..." 

She said it quietly, his laugh in response was nothing of the sort. "Yes we should." He closed his eyes for a moment, summoning the image to mind. Yes, no question, that was going to keep him going on many an awful day. "My kingdom for a camera." 

Molly sipped her champagne. "I don't think poor Mary knew what hit her though," she murmured. 

"She'll get used to it." His hand found her waist then, his thumb sweeping up and down. "We all do." 

"Admit it." Molly's grin was affectionate but he knew he well enough to spot the trace of sauciness hiding underneath. "You missed all of this." 

Greg looked around, saw Sherlock muttering to himself as he read who knows what, saw John keeping one eye on him even as he talked to Mary, heard Mrs Hudson clattering down the stairs as she muttered about sandwiches and salads. Looking back down at Molly, he saw her doing the same and he moved his hand from her waist to the small of her back, pulled her close against him. 

"More than I ever thought possible," he said quietly. "Though if you tell him I said that..." 

Molly giggled. "Your secret is safe with me." A shadow passed over her face and he knew what she was thinking, of that tear filled night a few days ago when she'd confessed her part in Sherlock's disappearance, the secret she'd been keeping from him the entire time they'd been seeing each other. She'd cried telling him and when he hadn't been angry, had instead wondered how she'd kept it to herself all that time, she'd cried even more. 

"Hey, none of that." His voice, though quiet, brooked no argument. "You did the only thing you could, Molly... you kept him alive, kept everyone alive. None of this would have happened without you." Her cheeks darkened and she looked down, but he wasn't finished yet. "You're bloody marvellous, Molls... but I knew that already." 

Her smile when she looked up at him was the special one that she reserved just for him, the one he'd gotten used to seeing these last two years, the one he couldn't live without. "I love you," she told him and he grinned. 

"Lucky me," he said and he meant it. He did kiss here then, PDA be damned and her fingers came around to the back of his head as she kissed him back. 

Then Mrs Hudson arrived with the food and John and Mary proposed a toast and Sherlock complained about the sandwiches and all in all, it was just about perfect.


End file.
